So far, my thoughts are that Efrain Juarez seems like a bit of a character. Certainly, the Celtic team looks more exciting than this time 12 months ago and Lennon appears to have brought in good young players who can make the cultural step up and, should they make the grade, be worth a few million more than we pay for them in a couple of years time. Plus there seems to be no golden calves, as such, in that McGeady looks like he'll be off down south for £10million and Boruc being gone (although David James, really?). And with Hooiveld and Rogne fully fit and well and being coached by people who seem to care about getting a real team spirit at the club rather than changing everything all at once.

And Samaras might be off as well, thank goodness!

Rangers are messed up now - they'll be reliant on Kyle Lafferty for goals should Miller be injured. The same Kyle Lafferty who has a record of 26 goals in 145 appearances. The defence looks seriously weak as none of the players are getting younger. They will be second at best but, with so few players, any big injury crisis could see them overtaken by Dundee United and Hibs at least. Hearts possibly, should they decide this is one of the occasional seasons where they get it together.

Aberdeen won't go down simply because there'll be a team worse than them. Accies or Caley will have that pleasure.

You honestly think that someone will split the OF.....last season was a great chance for folk to do it but they bottled it, as per usual. I dont see the attraction of Hibs...lots of folk look at them as "most likely team to..." but what have they actually done to give that impression? One League Cup win in 15 years or something....Hughes is a balloon into the bargain. They'll have a period where they'll look good and the papers will start talking about them finishing second, then they'll implode and not win a game in ten or something. It always happens

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

A draw with Tamworth. Things are looking up. Signings! Two of 'em! Never heard of either so reserving judgement, however, one is named Folly. Aberdeen depress the crap outta me these days.

Also, Darren Mackie's testimonial year. Darren Mackie, who last season scored his 50th league goal, has been a striker for Aberdeen for a decade. Staggeringly depressing, on many levels. 1: I'm really that old I can remember getting excited about "the next Michael Owen". 2: He's our top scorer in the SPL. 3: He's still at the club. 4: They're putting on a celebration for him 5: we've been sh!t for ages.

Scotland on Sunday the other day, Sunday I think, had a blether with Levein. Sir Craig of Juteville spouting patriotic platitudes about restoring the attitude that playing for Scotland is the ultimate. Next page; same Sir Craig of Juteville spouting pragmatic platitudes about pursuing some Geordie lump wi' a Grunny 'cos he hasn't definitely said he's nae interested (though I suspect the word Levein probably used was definately). Bottom of same page; same Sir Craig of Juteville spouting yet more pragmatic platitudes in his declaration that it was right to invite back those who'd taken the p!ss while on Scotland duty. Square the 2nd and 3rd belly-rumblings with the first. Canna, can ye?

Other comedy newspaper "stories":

Walter Smith, he of the £10 for every £5 era of football ruination, isn't envious of Rasellickbyrawaybigmanbut making room for more teacakes. Nice.

Hearts drop interest in Hartley after Sutcliffe refuses to sign a bitty paper distancing himself from the actions of the "Riccarton 3". Romanov is ace.

Also, STV re-run of the Football Years reminded us of a truly great footballing moment. No, not Aberdeen winning the league. Stuart Cosgrove voicing the thoughts of Aberdonians everywhere. A massive, synchronised silence of disbelief at the thought aloud on a branch of the weegia foolowed by hundreds of thousands as one shouting in agreement at the telly - "phuckin' right min!" was the cry. Here follows those splendid words:

Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you could measure it by the yard; and I bet you a lot of them were watching telly [for the '80 cup final] saying "there you go, that's what they're really like."

Indeed.

_____________________________

"Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you can measure it by the yard."

i finished tied third a couple of seasons back!!...was one goal away from getting every score right one week and winning two tickets to the champ league final. They stopped putting up prizes when the BBC got caught fiddling competitions and I've not done it since. I'll give it another shot this year I think

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

Dons top of the league! Aye, it may be after only one game but one game is better than no games.

Hartley! Boy's an expletive but he's now our expletive.

End the season now.

Oh aye. Scotland. Harrrumph.

Levein: jist a pre-season friendly. Eh? Sort it oot min. Ye were gonna end a boy's career for him playing for his club rather than for Scotland but now we get horsed and it's just a pre-season firendly. Kenneth and Broadfoot in the same defense. Christ. "Friendlies" (I prefer challenge matches) count towards rankings, which count towards seedings, which means we have to win 'em if we wanna stop ending up in hoorin' hard groups.

_____________________________

"Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you can measure it by the yard."

the last two havent been particularly hard....we should have been able to finish second in the last one and it shouldnt be beyond our reach in this one either. Defence is shocking...why he gave Kenneth a game and left McManus on the bench is anyones guess. Fair enough McManus has been pish for about a year but there's no way Kenneth is goin to start in the next two games so he shouldn't have had him starting. Away to Sweden is hardly a game to bleed a young centre half (and an untried defence for that matter) anyway. Broadband is pish and shouldnt be near a scotland shirt (need Hutton to be fit and playin first team football somewhere) and what anyone sees in Berra is a mystery. Never rated him at Hearts, dont rate him now. Webster and McManus will likely be the first choice centre pairing until Caldwell gets fit. Left back is a problem too. Wallace looks like he could do a job but needs a wee bit more experience. I'm guessin we'll line up in Lithuania like this

McGregor

Whittaker McManus Webster Hutton

Fletcher Robson Dorrans (if fit) Brown McFadden

Miller

I'd have Fletcher and Brown holding, Dorrans in front, Robson and McFadden on either flank (despite being a leftie, I've always liked Mcfadden cutting in from the right)...anyhoo, if we cant get 6 points from these first two games then we should just pack it in.

As for the SPL, early days, but apparently thats the best Killie have played at Greyskull for a few years. The Mothers next at home, hopefully we'll get 3 points and get off and running. Home games will be crucial for us this year, especially against the likes of 'Well.

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

the last two havent been particularly hard....we should have been able to finish second in the last one and it shouldnt be beyond our reach in this one either. Defence is shocking...why he gave Kenneth a game and left McManus on the bench is anyones guess. Fair enough McManus has been pish for about a year but there's no way Kenneth is goin to start in the next two games so he shouldn't have had him starting. Away to Sweden is hardly a game to bleed a young centre half (and an untried defence for that matter) anyway. Broadband is pish and shouldnt be near a scotland shirt (need Hutton to be fit and playin first team football somewhere) and what anyone sees in Berra is a mystery. Never rated him at Hearts, dont rate him now. Webster and McManus will likely be the first choice centre pairing until Caldwell gets fit. Left back is a problem too. Wallace looks like he could do a job but needs a wee bit more experience. I'm guessin we'll line up in Lithuania like this

McGregor

Whittaker McManus Webster Hutton

Fletcher Robson Dorrans (if fit) Brown McFadden

Miller

I'd have Fletcher and Brown holding, Dorrans in front, Robson and McFadden on either flank (despite being a leftie, I've always liked Mcfadden cutting in from the right)...anyhoo, if we cant get 6 points from these first two games then we should just pack it in.

As for the SPL, early days, but apparently thats the best Killie have played at Greyskull for a few years. The Mothers next at home, hopefully we'll get 3 points and get off and running. Home games will be crucial for us this year, especially against the likes of 'Well.

From what I gather Levein doesn't rate McManus, and in all honesty given the performances he's conjured up in the past couple of seasons for Celtic, Boro and Scotland - I think it's an opinion justified. Personally I think he's a type that works alongside an experienced centre half (i.e. Davie Weir in Paris) but when he's given the role to guide the younger / less experienced guy alongside him he's consistently all at sea.

But anyhow, I don't think we can disguise the fact that Sweden was both an alarming performance and result and naturally because of it we'll be going into the Lithuania / Liechtenstein doubleheader with baited breath. I have a lot of time for Levein - both because of his time as a player and manager for Hearts - but one of my biggest worries regarding him is that he's a manager that takes time to get things right. Whilst he did great work at both Hearts & Dundee United, it took him over a year in both jobs to get things absolutely right and given the successes and failures of international management are defined by short term margins every time - I'm concerned he'll either not get the required time to get things right or fail to adapt to the expectations we demand.

Whether it was the fault of Levein or the SFA, I also reckon we've made a huge mistake in not arranging more friendlies in the run-up to this qualifying campaign. Two friendlies before the real deal with a new manager with new ideas was to me, nowhere near enough preparation and that was evident in the performance in Sweden by a group of players who looked like a bunch of strangers having no idea what they were required to do. With the world cup last summer we missed a golden opportunity to test ourselves against decent sides requiring warm up matches and had we arranged a couple in May / June - I reckon we would be going into the game in Kaunas far better prepared, and hell, maybe even confident, rather than nervous which it'll no doubt be.

As for the SPL, it looks like more of the same really. Given the people they've brought in over the past week you'd suspect the In Firm will again be ahead of the rest - who finishes 1st will by in large be decided by how Lennon deals with his inexperience as a manager and whether Rangers can stay clear of injuries to key players. I think those between 3rd and 8th will be pretty tight as there's very little to separate the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United, Motherwell, Aberdeen & St. Johnstone - although I'd be seriously disappointed if Hearts don't make the top six. My gut feeling tells me that Caley Thistle will be okay this term but I reckon Hamilton, Killie & St. Mirren will be in for a long hard season.

the last two havent been particularly hard....we should have been able to finish second in the last one and it shouldnt be beyond our reach in this one either. Defence is shocking...why he gave Kenneth a game and left McManus on the bench is anyones guess. Fair enough McManus has been pish for about a year but there's no way Kenneth is goin to start in the next two games so he shouldn't have had him starting. Away to Sweden is hardly a game to bleed a young centre half (and an untried defence for that matter) anyway. Broadband is pish and shouldnt be near a scotland shirt (need Hutton to be fit and playin first team football somewhere) and what anyone sees in Berra is a mystery. Never rated him at Hearts, dont rate him now. Webster and McManus will likely be the first choice centre pairing until Caldwell gets fit. Left back is a problem too. Wallace looks like he could do a job but needs a wee bit more experience. I'm guessin we'll line up in Lithuania like this

McGregor

Whittaker McManus Webster Hutton

Fletcher Robson Dorrans (if fit) Brown McFadden

Miller

I'd have Fletcher and Brown holding, Dorrans in front, Robson and McFadden on either flank (despite being a leftie, I've always liked Mcfadden cutting in from the right)...anyhoo, if we cant get 6 points from these first two games then we should just pack it in.

As for the SPL, early days, but apparently thats the best Killie have played at Greyskull for a few years. The Mothers next at home, hopefully we'll get 3 points and get off and running. Home games will be crucial for us this year, especially against the likes of 'Well.

From what I gather Levein doesn't rate McManus, and in all honesty given the performances he's conjured up in the past couple of seasons for Celtic, Boro and Scotland - I think it's an opinion justified. Personally I think he's a type that works alongside an experienced centre half (i.e. Davie Weir in Paris) but when he's given the role to guide the younger / less experienced guy alongside him he's consistently all at sea.

But anyhow, I don't think we can disguise the fact that Sweden was both an alarming performance and result and naturally because of it we'll be going into the Lithuania / Liechtenstein doubleheader with baited breath. I have a lot of time for Levein - both because of his time as a player and manager for Hearts - but one of my biggest worries regarding him is that he's a manager that takes time to get things right. Whilst he did great work at both Hearts & Dundee United, it took him over a year in both jobs to get things absolutely right and given the successes and failures of international management are defined by short term margins every time - I'm concerned he'll either not get the required time to get things right or fail to adapt to the expectations we demand.

Whether it was the fault of Levein or the SFA, I also reckon we've made a huge mistake in not arranging more friendlies in the run-up to this qualifying campaign. Two friendlies before the real deal with a new manager with new ideas was to me, nowhere near enough preparation and that was evident in the performance in Sweden by a group of players who looked like a bunch of strangers having no idea what they were required to do. With the world cup last summer we missed a golden opportunity to test ourselves against decent sides requiring warm up matches and had we arranged a couple in May / June - I reckon we would be going into the game in Kaunas far better prepared, and hell, maybe even confident, rather than nervous which it'll no doubt be.

As for the SPL, it looks like more of the same really. Given the people they've brought in over the past week you'd suspect the In Firm will again be ahead of the rest - who finishes 1st will by in large be decided by how Lennon deals with his inexperience as a manager and whether Rangers can stay clear of injuries to key players. I think those between 3rd and 8th will be pretty tight as there's very little to separate the likes of Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United, Motherwell, Aberdeen & St. Johnstone - although I'd be seriously disappointed if Hearts don't make the top six. My gut feeling tells me that Caley Thistle will be okay this term but I reckon Hamilton, Killie & St. Mirren will be in for a long hard season.

yeah but mcmanus is the best of a bad bunch unfortunately....who are the real alternatives?

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

Even though he is often the victim of ridicule often I'd have Caldwell in there ahead of McManus everytime, as in my opinion he's never let Scotland down and can even net the odd crucial winner against more illustrious opponents. I gather he's out for the doubleheader though which means there really isn't an alternative to McManus at the moment, and as you highlighted, playing the likes of Kenneth and probably even Berra (although I rate him more than yourself) could prove suicidal. Hopefully the likes of Andy Webster and Danny Wilson will establish themselves at Rangers & Liverpool before too long but the games in September and October will probably come a bit too soon for them.

yeah me too, I prefer Caldwell to McManus, but Caldwell wont be fit for the next game, thats the only reason I was advocating McManus' inclusion. It would be Caldwell and Webster as the two centre halves for me...even though the Caldwell/McManus partnership has more experience together. I too hope Wilson can establish himself, but i dont think we'll see him in the L'pool first team for a couple of years yet.

Centre-half was a great position for us over the years...from McLeish, Miller, Gough, Hansen, Hendry and thats just my lifetime....its tragic the state we are in now.

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

he kidded on he'd been headbutted....didnt see it but apparently it wasnt very clever looking. Dunno if it got the guy sent off or not

Typical behaviour from those scumbags.

A quick quote from the BBC website

A sliding challenge by Riordan on the onrushing McGregor provoked an angry reaction from the keeper, who then fell to the ground holding his face as the pair argued. But television replays appeared to show that Riordan had made no contact with the keeper's face.

Brines cautioned both and Hibs' Liam Miller followed the pair into the book for dissent.

As for the Scotland CB problem... I hinna a scooby. We're really in a spot. none of the least atrocious contenders have any pace, the level of game smarts is dismal. We'll need protection in front, heaps of it. We'll be deeper than the Titanic which means an even more isolated front man with hoorin' great gaps between full back and wide men and enough room for any no.10 with a scooby to rip the arse outta the centre. When we play against pace, or even pesky midfield runners (witness Sweden) we're buckled. All 'cos we've shady centre backs. How I miss Miller and McLeish...

McGregor... pffft. Boy's a clown. SFA winna take action after it, cos they dinna have the stones, the clown plays for them and the game's gone to the dogs.

The Dons are beginning to resemble a team, if not a football team a team of some sort. It warms the soul. I still suspect a long, cold winter ahead though. Weak wills can only be strengthened som much by one revolutionary sort. Still, I'm grateful for small mercies. Hartley has been a much needed wielder of the stick.

"Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you can measure it by the yard."

we're going down the route of "my granny had a westie and went to Largs for ice-cream" again....a la Matt Elliot, Nigel Quashie etc etc

Aberdeen top, Hamilton bottom, cant see it finishing like that in May....Killie need someone to put the "baw in the net"...here's hopin Big Pantyliner can unearth a gem in the next week or so...would take Alan Gow in a flash, surely we can compete with St. Mirren for him?? Bad times ahead if we dont get someone, though I still reckon league reconstruction or St.Mirren or Accies will keep us up

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

So a return for both Davie Weir and Paul Hartley to the Scotland squad I noticed, thoughts? Pleased to see Zico back as even though he's not quite as good a player as he was back in his days at Tynecastle, but I still rate him above the enigma that is Scott Brown and he'll bring a bit of drive into that midfield. As for Weir, it says a lot about our current crop of centre halves that we're having to bring in a 40 year to fill their shoes. That said, ironically he's less of a gamble than virtually everyone else we have at our disposal and what he lacks in pace he makes up for in intelligence.

Still got memories of his blunder against the dutch last year though....

bollocks....sorry state of affairs it is. Our chairman has no clue, there's only so much you can cut off a budget and still expect to compete. Saying that our budget has been on a par with the mid-table clubs the past couple of seasons and it hasnt done us any good. I can see Mixu's wee brother signing for us

As for Weir and Hartley..yeah I'd take Hartley back, dont know if I'd start with him though, unless there were a few injuries. Weir...its actually quite embarrassing that we're putting an SOS out to a 40 year old. He doesnt have the legs for international football anymore, hasnt the past couple of years and although his reading of the game is second to none (in Scotland anyway), having him at the heart of defence is a backward step. No doubt The Daily Record will be creaming themselves though

I remember the Dutch blunder too....

< Message edited by big dawg -- 24/8/2010 6:20:51 PM >

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

bollocks....sorry state of affairs it is. Our chairman has no clue, there's only so much you can cut off a budget and still expect to compete. Saying that our budget has been on a par with the mid-table clubs the past couple of seasons and it hasnt done us any good. I can see Mixu's wee brother signing for us

As for Weir and Hartley..yeah I'd take Hartley back, dont know if I'd start with him though, unless there were a few injuries. Weir...its actually quite embarrassing that we're putting an SOS out to a 40 year old. He doesnt have the legs for international football anymore, hasnt the past couple of years and although his reading of the game is second to none (in Scotland anyway), having him at the heart of defence is a backward step. No doubt The Daily Record will be creaming themselves though

I remember the Dutch blunder too....

Maybe if you sell us Bryson that'll loosen up the purse strings for Gow?

As for Weir, he'll get us thrugh Liechenstein & Lithuania, although playing him against the Czechs and the Spanish will be suicidal potentially...

bollocks....sorry state of affairs it is. Our chairman has no clue, there's only so much you can cut off a budget and still expect to compete. Saying that our budget has been on a par with the mid-table clubs the past couple of seasons and it hasnt done us any good. I can see Mixu's wee brother signing for us

As for Weir and Hartley..yeah I'd take Hartley back, dont know if I'd start with him though, unless there were a few injuries. Weir...its actually quite embarrassing that we're putting an SOS out to a 40 year old. He doesnt have the legs for international football anymore, hasnt the past couple of years and although his reading of the game is second to none (in Scotland anyway), having him at the heart of defence is a backward step. No doubt The Daily Record will be creaming themselves though

I remember the Dutch blunder too....

Maybe if you sell us Bryson that'll loosen up the purse strings for Gow?

As for Weir, he'll get us thrugh Liechenstein & Lithuania, although playing him against the Czechs and the Spanish will be suicidal potentially...

if your gaffer wasnt such a tight arse you could have had Bryson...I reckon we'd take £750,000 for him, or thereabouts. He doesnt look interested with us right now (who would blame him), but he's under contract so unless someone comes in with that sort of cash he better get used to it, until January at least.

In fact he can start tonight, if fit, against the mighty Airdrie...if you dont hear from me for the next day or so we'll have likely got beat

I think I heard Webster is a doubt for the next two games so Weir/McManus partnership is looking more and more likely....hopefully Lithuania or Liechtenstein dont have any pace

< Message edited by big dawg -- 25/8/2010 6:40:55 PM >

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

The Jutes got beat and keep their mighty winless streak in Yooorup alive. No wins since '97. Ouch.

'Well? Pfffft.

Another glorious night for Scotland and our national sport. How pants are we as a nation? When Aberdeen win the league again (fit? it could happen) I'd prefer us to beat minks who can play a bit rather than just minks.

As for Weir and Scotland... well, he's smarter than the average bear, so that's something. Though I'd have banned the clown after his post-Faroes hissy fit.

And finally, the hibee mink who set alight a Dons fan on a train has escaped jail after apologising and offering £25k in compo to the burned Dandy, who spent months in hospital as a result. Nae real. Shout abuse in a ground - banning order. Fight on the street - probably jail. Set someone on fire - diddly. If yer loaded. Booooooo.

_____________________________

"Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you can measure it by the yard."

Well....another year, another european catastrophe for Scottish teams.

I'm getting seriously sick and tired of the same things happening year in, year out that typify Scottish football on the world stage (glorious failure = Motherwell, redeeming themselves but not enough as the damage was already done = Dundee United, the general national embarrasment = Celtic). Every year, when Scottish teams fall on the european stage (inevitably followed by the national team on frequent occasion) lot's and lot's of finger pointing happens and questions are asked, but nothing is ever resolved or answered. If we want to avoid descending into a very dark period that'll take generations to get out of - we have to start taking a proactive response, not in a year, not until Henry McLeish finishes his report, not until Gordon Smith's administrative blazer replacement takes his seat - but NOW!

We need to radically shake up the structure of all leagues, from the SPL to the highland league. We need to seriously consider the idea of summer football (or at the very least, begin early July) to combat the early european kickoffs. We need to weigh up what the consequences of selling out to television at the expense of having showpiece semi finals and league matches kicking off at the graveyard slots of saturday / sunday lunchtime, have been. We need to address the worrying fact that the English domestic game gets better coverage in Scotland than our own domestic game. But most importantly, we need to COMPLETELY overhaul the grassroots - encourage kids to work on their game, don't thrust the fear of losing into them at such a young age and give them the opportunity to progress with good facilities at their disposal. Every time I see a scottish team in europe, our inability to cope with the situation on both a technical and psychological level is staggering! Teams from Slovenia are technically better on the ball than ourselves and given we're a bigger nation with a much bigger enthusiasm for our national game - this is simply not good enough.

Hopefully the proposals in place to shake up the SPL being launched in the new year will be a start, but it's very much a small section of a very large, complicated, flawed foundation that we cannot continue to ignore fixing anymore.

Pretty much agree with everything you say Qwerty...but we go through this every season when we (inevitably) get pumped out europe this early. And it'll only get worse as our co-efficient drops, we end up with more qualifiers, get pumped even earlier and we end up as some footballing backwater like Andorra or Malta. Our teams have no right to look at teams like Utrecht or Odense and expect to swat them aside. Scottish football has been in the doldrums for about 10 years, masked by Celtic and Rangers' runs to the final. Outwith that we have achieved very little in the way of results, I reckon if you were to put up the Wins, Draws and Losses of our teams this decade it would bring tears to the eyes. In a way I'm glad my team havent been good enough to qualify lately, sparing us at least some of the ritual humiliation, but as a proud Scot in general, it's still embarrassing.

Still least we have the national team next week to bestow some pride.....

_____________________________

I can believe things that are true and I can believe things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not

Ricky Foster (who I've repeatedly seen ducking out of headers, while playing in defense) has gone to Satan's blue XI for a season. In return for this dismal footballer, though our only experienced full-back, we get Velicka. Velicka who has played, what 4 games-ish in 3 years. On the striker front we have Mackie, Maguire, Paton, Megginson, Vernon, Magennis. We also have Aluko and Pawlett who are at their best as out and out wingers. Now 7 proper (well sort of) and 2 pseudo-strikers. 0, zero, zilch full-backs. We have 2 centre backs who can play full back, kind of. We have a coupla young uns that can play full back, though they never have yet. We have a squad of 20 with 7 strikers, 2 wingers. Defensively we have 4 centre backs, 2 young uns and Derek Young (who was full back when we got brutalised in Europe last season)

What in the hell is McGhee on?

On the plus side Satan's blue XI just signed a speedy midget who's crap at fitba.

Still, boaby's nae a happy bunny.

_____________________________

"Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you can measure it by the yard."

Ricky Foster (who I've repeatedly seen ducking out of headers, while playing in defense) has gone to Satan's blue XI for a season. In return for this dismal footballer, though our only experienced full-back, we get Velicka. Velicka who has played, what 4 games-ish in 3 years. On the striker front we have Mackie, Maguire, Paton, Megginson, Vernon, Magennis. We also have Aluko and Pawlett who are at their best as out and out wingers. Now 7 proper (well sort of) and 2 pseudo-strikers. 0, zero, zilch full-backs. We have 2 centre backs who can play full back, kind of. We have a coupla young uns that can play full back, though they never have yet. We have a squad of 20 with 7 strikers, 2 wingers. Defensively we have 4 centre backs, 2 young uns and Derek Young (who was full back when we got brutalised in Europe last season)

What in the hell is McGhee on?

On the plus side Satan's blue XI just signed a speedy midget who's crap at fitba.

Still, boaby's nae a happy bunny.

In fairness to Velicka, at Hearts even though he was one that certainly liked to hide in matches - if you gave him a chance he'd burst the net, so if you guys can keep him fit I reckon he'll do a decent job for you. At the very worst he'll get more goals than Darren Mackie - which I know isn't saying much!

Anyhow, the scottish football circus rolls on to Kaunas this evening.

According to the Beeb we'll be lining up like this tonight....

--------------------McGregor----------------------

Hutton ------Weir ----------McManus ------Whittaker

------------------McClulloch------------------------

Brown---- Fletcher--------- Robson ---------Naismith

---------------------Miller----------------------------

What we thinking? Whilst it's hardly a line up that's full of imagination it is an experienced one so that should keep the chances of having a horror start to a campaign a bit lower than in recent times(Faroes, Macedonia anyone?) . A little worried regarding Hutton's match fitness but given the alternative's Broadfoot I'm prepared to take the risk!

Regarding Lithuania and being a jambo I know a little of them and in all fairness they're pretty mediocre but they'll be tricky if we sit back too much and let them attack. Miko & Chesney are decent on the ball but they'll shy out of a heavy challenge (and Miko's already got history in this fixture of taking a dive). Zaluikas is a relatively solid centre half who has improved over the past year but he does have lapses of concentration and doesn't deal with cross balls or ones through the middle very well. Velicka as we all know and as I previously covered, tends to be anonymous in games but when presented with a big chance you can bet your bottom dollar he'll convert. Beniusis (or as we knew him by, Beni-useless) is pretty much all height and nothing more - no worries on the ground but set pieces he could be a threat. Ivaskevicus however is just rank full stop - the type of player who'll no doubt score this evening - and the guy who I think dumped Rangers out of the champions league when he played for Kaunas.

I think anything less than 3 points tonight and we'll be trouble - but here's hoping.

McCulloch - raaaaaaaaaaaaaage! How does that bam get to play. Oh, silly me. he plays for them.

Where's Faddy?

I have a bad feeling about this...

I'd pray to God but there's only so much Willie Miller can do at a time like this.

Have to settle for my lucky Meeeeheeko '86 top and crossed fingers.

_____________________________

"Aberdonians, and with some degree of purpose and right on their side, have absolute contempt for Glasgow. There is a side of Aberdonians who, let's be absolutely honest about this, feel so superior to Glasgow that you can measure it by the yard."